This was such a great lighthearted murder mystery. I loved the Clue/Knives Out vibes and the fun vacation setting. Reading about writers is always a favorite of mine and I love the intertwining of the murder plot and Eleanor's new book.

I did find the ending to be a bit predictable and I had guessed the murders pretty early on but I still very much enjoyed the plot.

I didn't love the footnotes and would have rather had that information written into the body text of the book. Especially when reading on a Kindle, it was difficult to remember which footnote went where and what it was referencing.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack was so much fun! I venture to say the most fun book I've had reading a book in a long time. It had intrigue, phenomenal storytelling, humor, a closed circle mystery, great character (both likable and unlikable) and... of course my favorite, a book about other books. You need to read this now!

This is my first novel experience by Catherine Mack, and I found her writing to be quirky and witty. The cast of characters were well developed, and the cozy mystery had a Knives Out/Clue vibe that I enjoyed. I’m excited to read more from this author!

2 stars

I'm withholding my review of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies in solidarity with the #SpeakUpSMP boycott. Please visit https://r4acollective.org/about/ for more information.

This was good. I was looking for something to grab me right away and get me out of a reading slump. This was the book.

I know everyone loved this book but I could not get into it. I don't know if it is a me problem, but there was nothing that hooked me from the beginning.... or first few chapters even.

This was a fun cozy murder mystery!! It was thrilling, spontaneous and captivating. It was the perfect summer read. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this! I will definitely suggest this to other readers.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. It started out as entertaining, but then it was so repetitive. At first, I thought I enjoyed the style of book but the more I got into it the more I realized I did not. I did not like the way the author talked to me like I was in her mind. It was really weird. There were also a few too many Taylor Swift references. I have learned this is not my type of book.

I absolutely adore this author, this was a bit new . I will admit the footnotes were a fantastic part of the novel giving it extra depth, a unique addition to the novel. overall a well thought out, well plotted book.

Rating: 4.8

This cover absolutely sucked me in, and I scooped it up on the "Read Now" shelf on NetGalley. I was even more excited when I didn't get to read it before the publishing date but found it on the shelf at my library, and it sparked me to go pick it up right that second and read it – and I'm so glad I did! This is the perfect cozy vacation murder mystery, and I can 100% see why this has been picked up into a TV series and a series of books. I'm already anxiously awaiting another one!

Eleanor Dash is a famous author who has found herself in a bit of a pickle when she can only write about her former lover as the main male character, Connor. She finds herself in an even bigger pickle when she ends up on a book tour with him and several others in the literary circle, including her ex-boyfriend Oliver. When Connor thinks someone is after him and trying to kill him, after Eleanor mentions that she's looking to kill him off in her series, Eleanor thinks he's gone crazy. That is, until someone also tries to kill her and her friends – this trip is turning into a disaster!

Continuing on their trip like nothing is wrong proves to be even more difficult when one of their fellow travelers is killed, and they can no longer ignore what is happening. Will they make it through to the end of this trip? Will Eleanor finish writing her series? Will this be a love story too? Who's behind the threats, and can the killer be stopped?

This story was honestly written with such a fun tone, and the clever footnotes embedded in made me laugh out loud – I loved this type of writing where the narrator really just sounds like they are talking with a single train of thought. This type of writing may not be for everyone, but I knew it was for me, considering I write as my brain processes, which is similar to how this story read! I'm excited to read more of these and already setting up an alert to know when the TV show and second book are happening.

Thanks to NetGalley and Catherine Mack, in collaboration with St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a copy so that I could provide an honest review prior to the publish date (despite my inability to publish this review prior to release and physically reading the published copy)!

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack is a fun mystery about an author trying to get through her book tour. This is a very light-hearted murder mystery that was a lot of fun to read. The characters each have their own issues, but it's still a fun and entertaining story. Definitely recommend. And it's the first book in a new series, so I'll definitely be checking out the subsequent books. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

A fun cozy mystery that kept me interested throughout the entirety of the book. There was always something happening to pay attention to and I did not want to miss any of the clues. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, but it was fun to get to know them through the eyes of the main character, Eleanor.

The main character of Eleanor Dash is also the narrator for this lively tale of murder and mystery. Her first-person narrative of this story is whimsical and fun, especially when she breaks the 4th wall and talks directly to the reader. She is a bestselling author who has penned a very popular mystery series starring her slimy ex-boyfriend, Connor Smith, as an irresistible detective. She met Connor many years prior to this in Italy and thought she had found the man of her dreams, so she made him the star of her book. But as the popularity of the book rose so did her dislike of Connor, as she had quickly found out he was more a man of her nightmares. There are many secrets from that ill-fated meeting of Connor and her first successful book of the series that come to light in this 10-day trip back to Italy.

The setting and storyline are wonderful. my only complaint is the footnotes. I was not a fan of the printed version of this intriguing book because it took much too much work to keep up with the many footnotes included in the narrative. I saw many reviews saying that the audiobook was much better, so I gave it a try and my whole opinion of the book changed! The audiobook is superbly done, and I highly recommend listening to this wonderfully woven tale!

I am very grateful to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for granting me the opportunity to read a digital copy of this gripping and yet hysterical mystery through Netgalley. All of the opinions in this review are my own.

This has no right to be as good or fun as it is.

Part-whodunnit mystery, part fictional commentary on publishing, part second chance romance, part vacation, and a whole bunch of fun. This journey circles our protagonist, who views herself as an accidentally famous author. To promote the latest installment of her series, her publisher hosts an Italian tour, where the book takes its mystery inspiration. On this trip, the man who inspired the series, her sleazy ex, believes someone wants him dead.

There's a large cast of characters with their motives to kill our author and her muse. The twists and turns are worth the ride. How can this be bad with a fun location like Italy?

Eleanor Dash is a murder mystery writer who’s trying to plot the final book in her successful series, while doing a book tour in Italy with her assistant who also happens to be her dear sister.
For some reason that tour also includes other competing murder mystery writers (??) and some annoying fans. Unfortunately, it also includes Connor, her former boyfriend who inspired and is the lead character in her book series. Connor is handsome, charming, and has now become a millionaire after blackmailing her for something that happened while they were still together.
That is precisely why she wants to end the series: she wants to kill his character in the books so she can finally be free on him. So what happens when she realizes someone is actually trying to kill him in real life?

What I didn’t like:
I really disliked Eleanor because she is very annoying, childish and at times she was even abusive to her sister.
The footnotes were excessive and distracting because it felt like the author was trying too hard to be funny there. In reality, the book was quite funny without them.

What I liked:
This book was funny, lighthearted and fast-paced. The mystery was interesting and the description of the places everything happens was excellent. I had the fortune of visiting Italy and I felt like I was back there.
I liked that Eleanor was an unreliable narrator and that she was constantly “breaking the 4th wall”, talking directly to us, the readers.
Also, I loved the covert reference to The Princess Bride :)

3,5 stars and I would love to read more books by this author!

A fun, mystery that works in just the right amount of touristy references that really helps “put you in the story” and the experience! A fun cast of characters that are developed nicely where I found myself “liking” some and “disliking” others and keeping engaged! The author used footnotes throughout which In my opinion add to the nuances of the whole story!! Really enjoyable and look forward to the next one!! An easy and enjoyable read!!

This was very enjoyable and was just as good reading it as a stand-alone or continuing on in the series. I would definitely recommend this as a vacation read or just a quick, fun read this summer!

DNF'd at 15%. I had a very hard time with the breaking of the 4th wall. I struggle with books that do this and struggled with this book as well. I was excited about reading this book heard great things about it, but it was not for me.

Thank you Catherine Mack, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies is the first book in a new series. This book has the feel of a modern Agatha Christie novel. There are lots of characters, everyone is a suspect, and I did not guess the correct suspect as guilty!

The setting (Italy) is wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the references to pop culture (music, books). I did feel like the book took a long time to get going. Additionally, the narrator sometimes speaks to the reader, for example identifying something in the story as foreshadowing, and I did not find this "literary device" appealing.

Overall, I don't think I'd pick up the next book in this particular series, but I would give this author another chance by reading something else she's written. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved the setting of this book,, and the conceit was a lot of fun. But it was a bit sprawling and messy, and did not keep my interest terribly well. I think the series has potential, but could use a firmer hand in editing future installments.

DNF @ 56%. This book was let's write a cozy mystery but throw a couple gimmicks in to amuse. Footnotes at the end of every chapter, I was not going to page ahead and page back just to make sense of 10 footnotes at the end of EVERY chapter. There was an outline of the main character's to be written book in progress, skipped that too. Maybe this was supposed to be amusing but I found it annoying. I don't DNF books often so that just gives an idea of how intolerable I found the gimmicks.